Disclaimer: Hawaii Five-0 and its characters do not belong to me.

...

He looked at his partner as Danny carefully analysed the wounds on his hands. He swallowed the twitch in his chest, the familiar flutter in his heart each time Danny looked at him with those baby blues that were impossible for him to not fall for every single time.

Stop, Steve.. You can't.. He mentally chided himself, looking away from his partner as Danny continued inspecting his arm which was honestly not that badly injured. It was hardly a scrape.

"Wait here, I'll get the first aid kit." Danny said with a small sigh.

"I'm fine, really.." He called after Danny who was already halfway across the room.

Shaking his head slightly at Danny's very predictable mother-hen nature, he let out a soft sigh as he settled on Danny's vacant chair. His eyes landed on a haphazardly folded piece of paper tucked on the side of the chair. He picked up the paper that he had seen his partner hastily hide away when he had entered the room earlier. He placed it on the table, not intending to read it when he noticed the familiar handwriting on it. His scrawly words were there peeking out from a corner of the paper.

Hey, Danno…

He swallowed, unravelling the letter with bated breath. He knew what it was right away. Still he read the words written in the letter. The letter he had written over a year ago. The letter he never got to give to his partner.

Yet, here it was in Danny's office. He ran a finger over the letterings that were well-worn. There were areas that were smudged in small circular halos presumably from drops of water that had landed on those words.

Tears?Danny's tears…

He breathed as he read the words again. Even now, he meant every single word that was written on the piece of paper. From the battered appearance of the letter, he could only guess that it had been unfolded and folded countless times. Danny had read it multiple times… And even cried over the words that reflected his undying love…

But why? Why had Danny kept the letter? Why had he read it? Why had he cried over those words?

Danny didn't love him… So why…

His thoughts were interrupted by the door clicking open.

"Come here, let me…" Danny stopped mid-sentence, as he stood unmoving.

He looked up at his partner, tears stinging his eyes. He met Danny's gaze as his partner looked at the letter in his hands. The blue eyes were immediately dulled with unshed tears. And that was when the realisation kicked him in the chest causing his heart to pound violently.

Danny did love him.

How could he have not seen it? How could he have believed his partner's lie? How could he for once believe that Danny did not love him?

The realisation resounded with every beat in his chest. Danny loved him… There wasn't another reason why Danny would have kept the letter. Or read it till the edges were battered.

But what he didn't understand was why Danny had lied about it. Why had Danny refused his love? What he didn't understand was how Danny could watch him bury the longing in his chest every single day. Why had Danny put him through the growing agony? Why would Danny be this cruel to him, why… He needed to know.

He stood up, holding the letter in front of him with slightly trembling hands. He didn't know what he was feeling. A part of him was relieved, maybe… but mostly, he was indignant.. "What is this? Wh..why do you have this?" He asked.

"Ste.. I.. Steve, I'm sorry.." Danny exhaled.

"For what?" He probed. "For what, Danny?" Those weren't the words he needed to hear from Danny. He needed to know why Danny had deemed it fit to torment him every day.

Danny averted his eyes, refusing to answer or unable to, he didn't know which.

"You found this after the accident." He said. "But I want to know why this is still with you. Why did you keep this?" He knew why. But he needed to hear it from Danny's mouth. He needed to hear those three words.

Yet, Danny kept stubbornly quiet.

"You can't answer me." He breathed. "You kept this letter for more than a year.. You were reading this before I came in. Why?!" He asked, shaking with emotions as he walked towards his partner.

He needed the answers.

Yet, the moment he saw the tears flowing down Danny's face, the indignation and anger in his chest vanished, replaced by a pulsating ache. He had no idea what was going on in Danny's head, but he knew at that very moment that he hadn't been through the torment of the past year alone. There was something equally agonizing twisting his partner's heart the way it had minced his.

He swallowed, taking in a calming breath. Ever as gentle as though he was afraid of hurting his partner, Steve wiped away the tears on Danny's face as Danny looked away from him, still not answering. Slowly, his fingers carved a path on his partner's rough cheeks.

"Because you love me." He said. "You love me, don't you?" He asked, his voice a soft whisper as his hand lingered on Danny's face. He didn't need to ask. He knew the answer.

Danny squeezed his eyes shut, brows furrowed together, grimacing as though he was in pain.

"You love me. I was right. All along. I didn't misread what I saw in your eyes. I didn't get it wrong. You love me. The exact same way I love you. Not as a friend, not as a brother. You just love me. That's it." He struggled to keep the tears in his eyes from spilling. "Answer me, Danny. Am I wrong? Do you love me?"

He looked at his partner who had his eyes fixed on the ground. For a couple of seconds, they stood in silence, the only sounds were that of their breathing.

Then, in a quiet voice, Danny said. "I don't..I don't love you.."

His tears flowed. The words were not what he wanted to hear but he had gotten his confirmation anyway. Danny was always a terrible liar. He didn't know how he could have been fooled for the past year. But he wasn't going to be fooled again.

"You're lying." He said. "Look at me. Look at me and say it."

"I don't love you." Danny repeated, his voice shaking as he looked into Steve;s eyes. And Steve knew, he just knew Danny didn't mean those words. Because those eyes could tell nothing but the truth.

He smiled as tears continued paving its way down his cheeks. "You love me. You love me so much.." He said slowly as he encapsulated Danny in his arms. "You love me."

"I d..don't.. I don't love you…" Danny said, pushing at his chest, but he held on tighter. He was sure that he wasn't wrong this time. "I don't love you.. I don't.. don't.. love you.." Danny repeated monotonously.

"Danno…" He whispered softly as he gently soothed Danny's back till his partner quietened down in his embrace. "I got you, buddy.. I got you.."

And as though Danny had lost all the fight in him, he leaned into his chest. And as their heartbeats fell into synced rhythm, Danny's small muffled voice reverberated loudly in his ears. "Ilove you.. I love you so much.."

He released Danny from the hug, wondering for a brief moment if that was possibly a hallucination on his part. He had waited too long to hear those words from Danny. Gently touching Danny's shoulders, he looked into Danny's tumultuous eyes. "Danny..did you..? Can you..say it again.."

...

"You're lying." Steve said. "Look at me. Look at me and say it."

He couldn't lie. How could he? Swallowing the ache in his chest, he looked up into Steve's eyes. How could he hide the tears in his eyes?

"I don't love you." He lied without a blink. He would have thought he had done a decent job.

But Steve knew him better than that. Steve smiled, looking at him. Slowly, he felt Steve's arms around him. "You love me. You love me so much… You love me."

It was tempting to succumb into his partner's arms. Tempting to say that yes he loved Steve like crazy. But he couldn't, could he? He had done well for a year. He could continue doing it for just about the rest of his life.

"I d..don't.. I don't love you…" He said, pushing Steve away to break away from the tight hold but Steve wasn't letting go. His heart ached as he emotionlessly repeated the words that were furthest from the truth. "I don't love you.. I don't.. don't.. love you.."

But Steve wasn't buying it. "Danno…" Steve whispered, a gentle hand on his back. "I got you, buddy.. I got you.." Steve's heartbeat, a calming sound against his. He closed his eyes, listening to the calming sound of Steve's heartbeat as his gradually slowed to match Steve's.

You don't want to lie anymore… Tell him… Tell him you love him… You can't lie anymore…

He doesn't know where the voice came from. But it was right. He no longer had it in him to keep up with the lie. He could no longer hide it from his partner. He never wanted to let go. He wanted to stay in the embrace forever. He wanted to keep on listening to Steve's beating heart. He wanted to live the rest of his life in Steve's arms. And in that one moment, he allowed himself to make the mistake.

"I love you… I love you so much.."He blurted the words out against his own will. He opened his eyes with the realisation of what he had just done.

"Danny..did you..? Can you..say it again.."

Regret swelled in his chest the moment his eyes met Steve's hopeful gaze. He shouldn't have said it. He should never have said it. For just a moment, as he felt Steve's every breath against his temple, he had dreamt of their happy ending. Yet, no matter how much he wanted it, he should never have made the mistake... For it was a happy ending he was never destined to get…

Never.

"Danny.. say it again.." Steve whispered gently. "I need to hear it again."

He swallowed, shrugging out of his partner's hold. "I.. I'm sorry.. St..eve." He struggled to find his voice. He struggled to find the words. "I don.. this is no.. th.. not right.. can't.. Steve.. I ca.. we can't.." He muttered as he turned, heading for the door. Running away like the that he was.

"Danny." Steve voiced, blocking his exit.

"Please t..ry to understand... We can't.. Steve, we can't do this.." He begged.

"Why not?" Steve asked. "I love you, Danny... More than anything in this world. And you.. you love me." He stated. "So why can't we? For the past 1 year.. I tried Danny.. I tried to stop loving you. But the more I tried, the more I fell in love with you.. But I hid it all. I hid it because I didn't want to lose you. Because I thought you didn't love me.. because I thought we could never be together.."

"You're right..we can't be together, Steve." He said. "No matter what happens, we can't be together."

"Danny.."

"Even if I love you more than myself... even if I want to spend every moment of my life with you... even if you are the only person who can make me happy.. even if.." He swallowed his tears. "we can't Steve.. we can't be together.. We just can't.."

"Why, Danny? I need an answer." Steve said.

He looked up at his partner. Because I don't want to lose you.

Steve inhaled, asking, "Is this.. is this about what people would think? Your family..? Is this about your kids, Danny?" Steve said, looking concerned. "We'll... we'll make them understa..."

"It's not that, Steve. Not that."

"Then why? Why, Danny? What are you so afraid of?" Steve asked.

"Losing you." He said, looking into Steve's eyes. "I'm afraid of losing you. That's why we can't be together. Not now.. not ever, Steve."

"Danny, you won't. You won't ever lose me." Steve said, stepping closer.

He smiled through the tears as he shook his head. "You can't promise me that."

"I promise." Steve said. "Danny my love for you will never die. I will never leave you." He knew Steve meant it. He knew his partner would never leave him, not willingly at least. But none of them had a say when it came to life and death. And too many times, too many times he had lost the people he loved. He couldn't take another risk.

"Steve.. I know you won't.." He allowed his fingers to gently trace the side of Steve's face. "I know you won't leave me.. I know… And you need to know that I love you.. I love you so much.. but.. we can't.. we just can't be together, Steve.. I'm really sorry.."

"I don.. I don't understand.. Danny.. You don't trust me?"

"I trust you with my life."

"Then take a chance.. Just once. Give us a chance, Danny. I pro.." Steve said.

"I can't.. I can't take a chance.." He shook his head. "Not with your life."

"My life?" Steve said. "What do you even mean? I don't understand."

He breathed. "Steve, please.. once, just this once.. let it go."

"I can't.. make me understand." Steve said. "Danny.. I accepted it when you said you didn't love me. Even if it just about killed me every single day to see you yet know that I can't be with you, I still accepted it. But I can't understand why you are putting a rift between us. I can't understand what is stopping us from being together. So please.. Please make me understand."

"I can't be with you…because…" He inhaled. "Do you remember the day of your accident? You came home from your mission. You were going to tell me.. you were going to give me that letter and tell me."

"How could I ever forget?" Steve said.

"You weren't the only one." He swallowed. "I was going to meet you to tell you the same thing. That I love you, that no matter what happened, I wanted to be with you. That I couldn't live without you."

"I didn't know.. Danny…"

"I was going to tell you, Steve. It would have been the happiest day of our lives. Would have been…" He breathed. "But instead.. I had to watch you die. I had to watch your heart stop beating. Those 4 minutes were the longest 4 minutes in my life. I lived my biggest fear in those 4 minutes. I thought I lost you. The day I was supposed to have you for the rest of my life, I almost lost you for good."

"I didn't die that day, Danny. I lived. Maybe it's because there is something left for me to live for. Us. maybe I still had 'us' to live for." Steve said.

"I can't.. You barely lived.. You almost died because of me. I can't take the chance again, Steve."

"Danny, what happened because of you.. It wasn't your fault, we've been through this."

"I have a hard time believing that." He said. "Everyone I care about, everyone I depended on, they all died. I can't have you be the next one, Steve.. I can't.."

"That's not in our control, Danny. I could die in the next five minutes, or the next fifty years." Steve said. "But are you going to make the most out of it for the next four minutes or… are you going to torture yourself, are you going to punish me for the next fifty years?"

"Ste.."

"It really doesn't matter how much time we have left in this world, Danny. I could live a whole lifetime in 1 minute, as long as it's with you."

"But I can't." He said. "I'm not you. I can't live without you."

"That will have to happen someday… One day, one of us will leave and the other would be left here alone. But when that day comes, are you not going to regret all the time we wasted when we could have been together? Are you not going to regret being too afraid to grab what was right in front of you the whole time?"

"Maybe I will." He whispered.

"Then, just take my hand, Danny. Make the most of whatever time we have. I don't want to waste a single minute more."

He looked at Steve's outstretched palm, wanting nothing but to reach for it. But he was afraid. Afraid of tempting fate. Afraid that if he did reach out, if he did take the chance he would lose Steve for good.

"I.."

"Danny.. you said you trust me. So trust me on this. Take my hand. I promise you, I will always.. always try my hardest to come back to you. I promise."

He swallowed. Closing his eyes to shut out the voices in his head, clenched his fist tightly, not knowing what to do.

You shouldn't.. You will regret this..

Take a chance.. Don't waste another minute..

You're not meant for happiness..

Happiness is right in front of you, just grab it.

"Danny.."

He opened his eyes, drowning in Steve's gaze. Slowly unclenching his fist, his frozen fingers sought refuge in Steve's warm hands.

As Steve pulled him into an embrace, he couldn't hear the words Steve were saying. All he heard was the incessant voice in his head.

You will regret this… You will regret this…

And should he have listened to the voice? Should he have retracted his hand? He didn't know.

But for now, he was all good in Steve's embrace. It had taken them too long to get to where they were. And he prayed with all his heart that they really did have the next fifty years with each other.

...

A/N: SO THERE YOU HAVE IT THEY ARE FINALLY TOGETHER! Took only 21 chapters to get there.. ooops! I hope you guys liked this chapter (I am really not good at writing romance or get together stuffs so this was so difficult to write, still I tried my best..) Let me know what you guys think, is this the end or do I have something else up my sleeve? Who knows, really? Anyways, see you guys in the next chapter (pray I won't be so busy so I can write faster). Thanks for reading and do leave a review if you can! Take care everyone!